"jimmy fallon" happening right [ chrs and applause ] this morning on "early today," dysfunctional democrats. senate leaders retreat from a preelection vote on extending tax cuts. oregon outrage. a bus driver is fired after he's videotaped reading while driving on the interstate. and crashed and burned. a small plane goes down in flames at an air show in indonesia. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hole and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm amara sohn.

yesterday, divided democrats punted on a serve to move to after november. incomes's tracie potts joins us with the latest. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: good morning. the international is confirming what we heard from nancy pelosi and the house, they will not deal with the tax issue until after november's election, after you go to vote. senate majority leader harry reid say they go sat down with democrats in the senate but couldn't work out an idea of how they would proceed with this in the senate. the idea here is whether or not to preserve the bush tax cuts for everyone or just for the middle class and let taxes go up on the wealthy. it's a political hot potato. not one democrat seems to want to touch this before everyone goez to the polls. they backed a small business bill, now going to the president's desk. $30 billion to set up a new fund

for small businesses to get loans so that they can expand, so they can hire people. the gop called this a bailout and they've got a new plan going into november calling it their pledge to america. reduce tax cuts and make them permanent for everyone. >> tracie potts, thank you. once again, the iranian president ahmadinejad put on quite a show yesterday at the united nations. yesterday he put out outrageous comments that prompted leaders to walk out in protest. >> reporter: under increasing fire for his nuclear program and facing something he dreads, the possibility of peace between the palestinians and israel, iranian president mach moud ahmadinejad dropped his bomb at the u.n.

most people, he claimed, believe american officials staged 9/11. >> translator: that some segments within the u.s. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining american economy and its grip on the middle east in order to save the zionist regime. >> reporter: u.s. diplomates and others walked out. calls it a conspiracy. rudy giuliani, new york's mayor on 9/11, called ahmadinejad insane or giving a great imitation. iran, giuliani said, must not get nuclear weapons. that was china's goal, who is helping to pressure iran. an arab/israeli peace deal is hoped to be completed next year. >> if we can have a new agreement that can lead to an independent, sovereign state of palestine living in peace with israel.

>> reporter: i'm steve handelsman, nkz, new york. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. cell phone video of a driver reading an e-book. at one point driving with his elbow. initially placed on paid leave, now fired for posing an immediate threat to public safety. in florida, another incident of distracted driving, only this time a sheriff's deputy accused. on his kren phone while riding his motorcycle in 50 mile-per-hour traffic. unbelievably, an internal investigation found no wrongdoing on the officer's part states it's not a safety concern for an officer to briefly check his cell phone wide riding. and an injured sea lion had a spear stuck in its back, helped to no avail. netted and quickly tore through and swam way.

they don't know how the animal was speared but say it was done on purpose. it would be a federal offense. and raising money for charity in amp attempt to cook up a world record with 2,000 pounds of gooey cheese. guinness hasn't weighed in about an official record. for $5, cheesy macaroni, a sure winner. nbc's bill karins with the weather forecast. i love macaroni. a huge bowl like that doesn't look that appetizing. does it? >> i think the bowl looked full at one time. that was like the bottom of the barrel. >> the next record they'll break. now mac and cheese people ate. >> yeah. all you can eat contest of mac and cheese would be interesting. let's chat about your forecast. very warm conditions in the eastern half of the country. cooler air coming down from canada. the west coast, you have been cool as of late, but at warm-up

this weekend. a big front in the middle of the country, dividing the air to the east. another system in the northern rockies and another big storm in the gulf of alaska affecting mostly british columbia a few clouds from seattle to the puchapucget sound. it will be warm. temperatures are going to jump especially saturday into sunday. the only cool spot behind this little clipper-type system that's really moving fast through the northern rockies. the forecast for today, as i mentioned, the only chilly air up in seattle. everybody else, mild. beautiful around boise and vegas, nice. 96. you'll get hotter. phoenix, back up into the triple digits. los angeles, beautiful, warm weather, middle of summer-type weather over the next couple of days. into the 90s in most areas by saturday and sunday. san francisco, some of the most beautiful weather you've seen.

82 and sunny. we couldn't buy that. roseburg, oregon, 79 and sunny. one of the nicer days you've seen in a while. warmer this weekend. show you the details coming up a little later. >> all right, bill. thank you. unexpected unemployment, the rent a car war continues and the crocodile conundrum. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, more than 20 years later, can wall street's gordon gekko hit box office gold once again? a milestone for ichiro, joining an exclusive club and one hand, one interception. you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm amara sohn. here are some of your top headlines this morning -- for the first time in nearly a century, the state of virginia has carried out an execution on a woman. last night, 41-year-old teresa lewis was put to death by lethal injection for arranging the claims of her husband and stepson to collect a $250,000 insurance policy. and and air show watched by hundreds of school children plane crash. the pilot the only aboard and now in critical condition. and lady al qaeda sentenced to 86 years in prison for trying to kill a u.s. soldier and intelligence officers in afghanistan. a government study shows one in five gay and bisexual men in the united states, 20% have the

hiv virus and nearly half of those do not know they are infected. that compares to an overall american hiv rate of just one-half of one percent. 1950s entertainer eddie fisher sparked one of the greatest showbiz scandals when he left actress debbie reynolds for elizabeth taylor has died. this, due to complications from recent hip surgery. eddie fisher was 82. now here's an early look how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,662 after falling 76 points yesterday. the s&p lost 9 points and the nasdaq dipped 7. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 94 points. but in hong kong, the hang seng was up 71. experts may be saying the recession is over, but until investors see improvement on the jobs front, markets are likely

to remain unsteady. initial claims for jobless claims rose for the first time in five weeks. investors saw that as a red flag that companies are cutting back. a slight improvement of existing home sales in august failed to fuel concerns that recent european austerity measures may not be enough. the food and drug administration is putting new restrictions on the diabetes drug avandia after it was banned in europe due to reported heart risk. elsewhere, on capitol hill, the house voted to repeal exemptions given to the securities and exchange commission that kept a lid on government data about the national financial firms. for the first time in several years, the federal trade communication is opening up air waves unused in a battle to make high-speed wireless broadband access more widely available. back on the street, the battle for thrifty car rental

continues just a week before shareholders were to vote on an approved $1.4 billion bid from hertz. avis has upped its offer to $1.5 billion. keep an eye on nike today, up 1.5% after the bell thanks to better than expected earnings. finally, talk about adding insult to injury. residents in the mexican state of veracruz cleaning up after heavy flooding brought on by hurricane karl are warned that at least 280 crocodiles are on the loose in the area after escaping during the storm. it's not a-okay for cc. an interception and major league milestones. plus, major action off the field as one toronto fan goes too far trying to catch a foul ball. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. and we have big changes coming this weekend as cool, fall air rushes across the country. your weekend forecast is coming

up. you're watching "early today." good morning.

if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports last night, the tampa bay rays trounced the yankees leaving their race to the division title a sprint to the finish line. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

good morning. it was a chance for either the yanks or rays to pull away in the a.l. east. yet after four games, we're back to where we started after a split in the big apple. works out for cc. rays were up, 4-3. it was frustrating for the yanks. that was it for cc. in the seventh, vasquez hit not one, not two, but three straight batters. that's a major league mark. the rays won it big, 10-3. they're now just a half game back of the yanks for first place. then to toronto. batista continues to hit the cover off the ball. he became just the 26th player to his the 25th home run of the year. not to be outdone, ichiro, a single in the fifth game him 200 hits for the 10th straight season. first player ever to do it. in the seventh, thought he had a chance to make the grab. instead, he took a tumble and head over heels and on to the field. that's embarrassed. blue jays won it, 1-0.

giants put up nine runs thanks to large part to ron areebe. a grand slam. first player to hit two home runs in one inning this season. giants won, 13-0. they're in first place in the n.l. west. albert pujols hit a pair of homers against the pirates. finally, great college football. it's not even saturday. miami and pittsburgh, the hurricanes jacoby puts it up. howard came down with a one-handed interception. spectacular play by the sophomore. the lone bright spot for the panthers. miami roles, 31-3. that's your early look at ports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. can an animated 3d feature about owls take the box office crown this weekend? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one girl's trip to the

land of make-believe proves dreams can come true. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. take a look at a beautiful weekend forecast. feeling like summer for a lot of you. much of california sunny, in the 80s. some areas in the 90s. 100 in phoenix. the cool spot from portland northward, cool air. look what happens saturday.

gorgeous weather. looks like summer. 84, salt lake city. 80s up to portland. 7 one of the warmest weekends all year, and it's the first weekend of fall. figures. doesn't it? watching on channel 10 in elko, nevada, something's in the air. at the soccer field, hot air balloon. stop by for the balloon glow. that's your pick event of the tay. have you take an balloon ride before? >> i was just going to ask you that. you took the words out of my mouth. yes, i have, and it is the most peaceful way to see the city. from the skies, of course. >> i did one. i'd love to do more. >> i'm still scared when i go up that high. thank you, bill. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment.

on the silver screen this weekend, look for a razor close finish. the obvious, "wall street" was one of the iconic movies of the '80s. michael douglas is featured as gordon gekko. and shia labeouf as well. interest is predictably high among older movie goers, but the luke warm spot took about $20 million. at first glance, "legends of the guardian" may not seem like a contender. after all, it's an owls but based on a popular book series, and there haven't been many family options in theaters lately. finish as close second. a few experts gone out on a limb and chosen it as the weekend's upset winner with more than $20 million. i am not feeling any of these movies this weekend, bill. >> "wall street," though, it was the first one, such an iconic

movie. now that we've had all the problems on wall street and people really want to the see a movie about? >> exactly. don't want to feel down. i'll go work on my tan. although, it's been in triple digits in parts. i don't know how seasonable that s. a l is. >> a lot of sun block. >> definitely. this comes to us from philadelphia, pennsylvania, where dreams did come true after one girl's trip to the magic kingdom. kyra thought she forever lost her autograph book with all of her favorite characters. newlyweds found her precious book and had loads of other characters add their autographs as well, sending it back with a personal note and their picture tucked inside providing the perfect storybook ending. and i'm amara sohn, and this is just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

forget dispensing cash from an atm. in spain, you can get gold bars instead. the gold to go machine was unveiled at a hotel in madrid. you can choose one, two or five gram gold bars. or customized coins all starting for as low as $50. the inventor hopes it will attract those gift-givers and those playing it safe during tough economic times. one english grandmother has shown it's never too late to get a jump on life. the extreme grandmother livened up her 90th birthday celebration with a skydive. granny took to the sky in a tandem jump attached by harness to an instructor and parachute.

she says the first momentsing to her breath way, but called the rest of the ride smashing. karaoke lovers came as far away as nigeria and the karaoke events are under way in moscow. the champ of the three-day event won't earn the kind of dough you're thinking of. the winner takes home 1 million russian dumplings. i didn't expect that. i do have to make an announcement, bill. due to work, i could not compete in the world championships for karaoke. >> i bet you you're all right. you're a lot better than me. >> oh, well, thank you for that. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc -- following speeches by president obama, iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad and other heads at the united nations, more world leaders take to the podium on day two of the u.n. general debate. washington state a court

ruling expected in a closely watched case involving don't ask, don't tell, the military's ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. the case at hand involves a decision on whether a flight nurse discharged for being a lesbian should be reinstated. and today is the day to make use of those exclamation points, commas and apostrophes. it is national punctuation day. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. hike hiker sarah shourd talks about her time in an iranian prison, and jerry seinfeld stops by for a discussion on what he call the mystery of the ages.

now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm amara sohn. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. busy office workers have been disrespecting lunch. and it's time someone did something about it. no need to be nervous. we're here to help. these are healthy choice fresh mixers and marie callender's homestyle creations. these guys actually allow you to prepare meals fresh. think of them as the lunchbox of the future. that's the sound of fresh taste. the noodles are separate from the sauce, but they desperately want to become friends. you cook the pasta, you strain it, you mix in the sauce, you'll find them in the canned pasta or soup aisle. did you hear me? the canned pasta or soup aisle. respect lunch!